As I was moving from my apartment in Kirkwood Missouri (near the
intersection of I-44 and I-270) to my house near Grey Summit
Missouri
(24 miles farther west on I-44) I noticed signs saying Henry Shaw
Ozark Corridor. I knew that Henry Shaw founded the Missouri
Botanical
Gardens and that he bought the ground that is now known as the Henry
Shaw Nature Reserve so I wondered what the connection might be. As
it
turns out this was named after him and ends at the Henry Shaw
Reserve
in the west. The Henry Shaw Ozark Corridor is a foundation
(www.hsoc.org) that is trying to preserve the natural areas along
the
24 miles stretch of I-44 from I-270 to Hwy 100 along with trying to
promote “sustainable economic and community activity”. They have
divided the area into seven different areas, Ozark panorama,
terraces,
Meramec bottoms, Antire hills, Fox Creek passageway, Pacific
palisades
and dolomite plateau (http://www.hsoc.org/documents/
HSOC_Map-2007.pdf.) Each area has its parks/reservation/conservation
area. I have not stopped at each of the seven areas let alone have
photos to share. I know, I know 50 lashes with a wet noodle. I will
try to make it a point to try and visit each of the parks and take
photos to share. I do not think that I will be finding any trees of
any size since this whole area was extensively logged to build the
railways west.

I am looking forward to your explorations of the corridor. In much
of the United States, especially eastern US (Missouri counts), the
landscape has been altered greatly by people. We do not have broad
swaths of unspoiled forests. What we need to do is to look for the
small gems among the heavily impacted areas. I hope you find some
along the corridor. Some of the stuff about the Shaw Nature Reserve
looks promising.